• Energy Research

Food and agricultural security are important elements of sustainable development, especially in developing countries. This is because progress in agriculture is fundamental to the structural transformation of developing economies while food security is an important indicator of progress made in economic development. Indeed, agricultural security and food security are intrinsically linked in the development process, as recognized by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The nexus between food and agricultural security is so vast. This special issue only attempts to highlight two important dimensions: (a) the role of resilience in mitigating the impacts of shocks on food and agricultural security and (b) unique challenges faced in sustainable agriculture development and the analysis of best practices. The other nine articles in this special issue cover a wide range, including (a) food security, sustainability and the achievement of SDG goals; resilience and conflict; forced displacement and agriculture; and shocks and structural transformation in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries; and, beyond SSA, (b) food self-sufficiency, public perceptions about good agricultural practices, environmental impacts of alternate crops, gender issues in agroforestry systems and food system transformation. Collectively, these articles highlight the link between food and agriculture security, environmental sustainability and resilience.

Evidence of how resilience factors mitigate the adverse effects of shocks on individuals, households and communities is clearly established. However, such evidence at the macro level is limited, especially on the pace of structural transformation. This paper explores whether the growing incidence of terrorism, armed conflicts and natural disasters in SSA impeded the pace of structural transformation. We conceptualize the notion of macro-resilience and test whether resilience factors mitigate the adverse effects of shocks on two measures of structural transformation: agriculture’s share of GDP and of national employment. We find that structural transformation is impeded by armed conflict and terrorism-related shocks but not natural disasters and that resilience factors enhance the pace of agricultural transformation. This implies that, while agriculture is often destroyed in conflict-affected areas, the broader impacts are even more negative for other sectors of the economy. However, surprisingly, we find negative or insignificant interaction terms between the shock and resilience variables, implying no mitigative role of resilience capacities. This may suggest, in the case of conflicts and terrorism, the presence of major, debilitating effects which limit the mitigative capacity of resilience factors. We further explore the implications for future research and possible strategies to address the growing threats from shocks.

This paper presents the rudiments of a Wind Prospecting Tool designed to inform private and public decision makers involved in wind industry development in reducing transaction costs associated with identifying areas of mutual focus within a state. The multiple layer decision support framework has proven to be valuable to industry, state government and local decision makers. Information on wind resources, land availability, potential land costs, potential NIMBYism concerns and economic development potential were integrated to develop a framework for decision support. The paper also highlights implications for decision support research and the role of higher education in providing anticipatory science to enhance private and public choices in economic development.

The disruptive effects of conflict and climate-related shocks and their tendencies to cause human population displacements are well documented in the literature. Given the growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) worldwide and the resulting population and service demand overload in host communities, it is important to understand the socioeconomic impacts. Because many host communities in developing countries are agriculture dependent, we investigate what happens to key agricultural sector outcomes in host communities when there is an influx of IDPs. For displacements caused by insurgency, communal clashes, and natural disasters, we estimate the impacts on agricultural outputs, employment, wages, and land use. We find that forced displacements generally result in reduced agricultural production due to lower land and labor productivity. Specifically, while the effect of insurgency-driven IDP influx is negative, it is positive for communal violence. Cassava, potatoes, and soya are particularly hard hit. Additionally, while insurgency-driven population influx reduces the agricultural wages of both males and females, it increases the reliance on male and female household labor but has no effect on hired labor. Finally, while insurgency-driven IDP influx does not affect land use and land market activities, it lowers the expected value of land and the number of farm plots harvested. We highlight the opportunity to leverage humanitarian assistance in building local agricultural capacity in host communities.

Abstract We argue that country oil supply response to price is affected by structural, market and policy-induced factors and conceptualized their effects. For fifty three major oil-producing countries, we further estimate country price elasticities of oil supply through a random effects model, which allows the estimation of the output effects of factors that can be shaped by public policies. Results obtained from panel data for the 1995-2014 time-period suggest the potential to accelerate recovery from an oil price depression through deliberate policies aimed at making oil supply more price responsive. Such policies include improved business climate, reduced corruption and larger levels of government spending. Greater degrees of diversification from oil, larger oil reserves, higher GDP and a less favorable exchange rate are also found to increase the potential for economic resurgence as oil prices increase. OPEC membership is also found to boost the potential for sectorial and overall economic recovery.

Abstract Quantifying wind potential is a pivotal initial step in developing and articulating a state’s policies and strategies for offshore wind industry development. This is particularly important in the Great Lakes States where lessons from other offshore environments are not directly applicable. This paper presents the framework developed for conducting a preliminary assessment of offshore wind potential. Information on lake bathymetry and wind resources were combined in simulating alternative scenarios of technically feasible turbine construction depths and distance concerns by stakeholders. These yielded estimates of developable offshore wind areas and potential power generation. While concerns about the visibility of turbines from shore reduce the power that can be generated, engineering solutions that increase the depths at which turbines can be sited increase such potential power output. This paper discusses the costs associated with technical limitations on depth and the social costs related to public sentiments about distance from the shoreline, as well as the possible tradeoffs. The results point to a very large untapped energy resource in the Michigan’s Great Lakes, large enough to prompt policy action from the state government.